The Villainess Wants to Make Her Husband Slim Down

CHAPTER 24

After protecting Camilla behind his back, Alois traced a sign in the air with his finger. His fingertip was charged with slight magical energy. In the air, letters appeared where his finger had moved.

Camilla recognized the movement of his fingertip. It was a spell called Dispel – Sorcery that undid all manner of curses and magic.

As soon as his finger stopped moving, that magical wind pressure returned for just an instant.

And, when the wind died away, Prince Julian had disappeared, leaving only Nicole in his wake.

"Why on earth have you done such a thing, Nicole!?"

"I-I'm sorry! I-I just wanted to help the Mistress somehow!"

"That was NOT for you to do!"

Nicole trembled as Alois bellowed. As Alois glared in sheer anger, that depressed appearance from before was blown away. Looking down on Nicole, he was every bit her Lord and a Duke.

"In the first place, this isn't the kind of thing you would come up with! Who told you to do this!? Answer me at once!"

"I... I did-..."

Nicole grasped the front of her skirt with bare white knuckles as she quivered. Her red eyes looked at a loss. She opened her mouth to say something more, but no words came out.

Then, she shook her head timidly.

"I did it, it was all my... idea. Please punish me how you see fit. It was my fault alone."

It was far from Nicole's usual lively and spirited way of talking. Her voice was almost mechanical, not betraying any emotion.

○

Nicole was told to return to her room for the time being.

Standing back outside in the courtyard where the residue of magical energy could still be felt in the air, Camilla was left alone with Alois.

The sky was a clear blue, but the wind was blustering. The wind numbed Camilla's cheeks, but also managed to cool down the emotions swirling around in her chest.

"I'm sorry."

When Alois looked at Camilla, he said that in a low voice.

"It was my fault that you had to experience something like that. I won't ever let anything like that happen again."

"No."

Camilla answered him bluntly, shaking her head.

"I am alright. I... This is not enough to hurt me."

She won't say that she's distraught, or that her heart felt like it had been broken a second time. She won't say that she's hurt.

– But.

It has been more than a month since Prince Julian exiled her from the capital. She had gone through regret and anger, then as she plotted her revenge, she thought that she had changed.

"I am not hurt... But..."

But, when the figure of the Prince stood in front of her, Camilla could barely say a word. She was shaken to her core as countless memories flooded through her. Her body had turned to ice and blood had rushed to her head.

That's how it was.

"But... I am sorry as well."

Alois didn't seem to understand. Just why was Camilla apologizing to him?

As she looked at Alois' sobering face, Camilla felt slightly awkward.

– Just one dish. How pathetic. You've got no willpower. How can you be a duke like this?

When Alois had fallen into a slump after Nicole's act, Camilla had thought some truly awful things about him. She had even said some of them out loud. The truth was, he really hadn't been acting like a duke.

But, duke aside, he was also a human being. He still had a heart. Camilla was the same. She should have realized that.

"Even if you say that you do not mind, there are things that I should absolutely never do... I was being insensitive."

"......Ahh."

As he looked at Camilla acting unusually modest, Alois nodded. He understood what Camilla meant now. He scratched the back of his head, slightly embarrassed.

"I never expected to hear something like that from you... Ah, no, I'm sorry. It was just a little unexpected..."

He smiled wryly as he stopped himself, realizing he was on the verge of being rude himself. As he stayed silent, Camilla could see her reflection in his red eyes that shone an even more vivid shade of red than the Prince's.

But, when those eyes narrowed as if to laugh, there was just a hint of bitterness that muddied them.

"You really do still love Prince Julian, don't you?"

That was probably the bluntest and most honest thing that Alois had said since they met.